Game Thinking TV

Recently, I re-connected with my friend – a brilliant technical founder who'd raised a seed round, pulled together a crack team & launched an app with impressive technology.

And then... he struggled with low retention & luke-warm customer interest 😥
Pivot your way to product/market fit 💰

The team was worried. They knew they needed to find product/market fit, FAST.

But they weren't sure how to proceed. What was the root cause of their retention problems? Was it the tech? The UX? The audience targeting?

We hunkered down & did a Product Breakthrough Sprint to find out.

And it worked 🎉 We were able to pinpoint the problem (tech + targeting) & then identify customers with the budget & willingness to pay for our solution 💰

Let's face it - when you're searching for product/market fit, testing ideas, it's almost inevitable that you're gonna hit that "trough of sorrow" 😩

But when you're able to come out the other side, informed by customer data & energized to pursue a promising, market-validated idea – that's the payoff for running early-stage high-learning experiments.

If you want to nail your niche & build a product that customers crave, your time-saving SuperHero is a no-code storyboard of your 30-day customer journey.

That's how my friend – the brilliant technical founder – got a Prototyping Breakthrough that changed the course of his business in a few short weeks.

How about you? Want to save time ⏳ & get your own Prototyping Breakthrough?

Check out this demo of Instant Storyboarding, powered by GenAI ✨

3 days ago | [YT] | 3

Game Thinking TV

If you’re building an innovative product & struggling to validate ideas quickly... we can help 🛟

With a track record of working on breakthrough hits like The Sims, Rock Band, eBay, Ultima Online, Covet Fashion, Netflix, & Replika – we know what it takes to create product magic 🪄

And from what I've seen – there are two approaches. You can either

A) Build & ship your product, and find out how the market reacts

Or…

B) Prototype & test your ideas in rough form, & shape your product around what people truly want

The first approach can work - sometimes. Which keep hope alive 🙏🏽

But far more often, this "build it & they will come" approach fails HARD, & wastes a lot of time & money.

I've seen it up close. Man, I've LIVED it. OUCH 😖

The second approach lets you find out what people want BEFORE you ship, and then build your product iteratively, in partnership with your target customers.

I've lived that one, too. And used this approach on EVERY hit I've worked on 🚀

So why doesn’t everyone take the second approach?

SIMPLE: they don’t know how.

In fact, most innovators don’t know it’s even possible to test their end-to-end product concept before shipping it 🙈

But the teams I worked with on The Sims, Replika, Netflix, Covet Fashion… THEY know. Because we took that approach – & it WORKED.

In our hands-on Product Breakthrough Bootcamp, you'll learn the same prototyping techniques that shaped those massive hits

You’ll follow a proven methodology to pressure-test your ideas & visualize your ideal customer journey.

With our expert guidance & proprietary GenAI toolkit, you'll create 30-day Concept Storyboards that'll clarify your customer experience for EVERYONE on your team – and give you a roadmap for moving forward with high velocity.

I'd love to get you hooked on de-risking projects with Instant Storyboards ✨

Join me in the Bootcamp & let's make it happen! (link in comments)

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 2

Game Thinking TV

Recently, I've worked on 3 different AI-powered mental health apps. It's a fascinating & fast-growing space.

And when I interview anxious adults, across projects & cohorts, I keep hearing the same feedback.

“You know when I REALLY need someone to talk to? When I’m tossing & turning at 1am, obsessing about some stupid thing I said that day, & I can’t turn my brain off. But I don’t want to bother my friends, or my therapist…”

For many people, nightly anxiety is an uncomfortable habit they live with. And if your product can make that habit less stressful, that's a BIG win.

This approach is called habit-stacking AKA linking a new behavior or activity to an existing habit. And it's one of the best retention hacks out there.

We’re all fundamentally creatures of habit. So integrating with your customers' existing habits gives you MUCH better odds of driving uptake & retention.

OK - so if you're ahead of the game, you might be wondering....
✅ How can I learn about customer habits quickly?
✅ How do I choose which habits to stack on?
✅ How do I map habits to product design?

Join me for a Lightning Talk on Habit-Stacking your Customer Journey this Thursday Sep 26 @ 9am PT

I'll answer these questions, & show you how to harness the power of habit-stacking in product design – & how to do it FASTER with GenAI/.

This talk is part of our hands-on JourneyMaker Challenge.

Want to make progress & get inspired? Join the Challenge (link in comments)👇🏽

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 4

Game Thinking TV

I'm SO happy right now 🤗 'cause my startup client had a HUGE win🏆 And I'm excited to share the behind-the-scenes process with you.

Here’s what happened…

Two brilliant technical founders had a cool idea, raised a seed round, built a great team, & produced an app with impressive technology. So far, so good.

Then… they struggled with luke-warm customer interest & low usage. For months. So they reached out for help.

We worked together to pinpoint the problem, & within a few weeks we were able to identify an adjacent market segment with the budget & interest to pay for their solution 💰💰💰

They're now pivoting their product design & pursuing this market segment, with exciting results.

It's beautiful to watch a team go through the "trough of sorrow" & come out the other side, energized & ready to pursue a market-validated idea.

Want results like this? Check out our FREE JourneyMaker Challenge, coming up Sep 24-Oct 1.

This Challenge is for founders, executives & product leaders who want to
✅ manage risk earlier, with less sunk cost (both financially & emotionally)
✅ make sure they're solving an urgent problem for a group of “true believers”
✅ pickup actionable discovery & design tips that save months of time

In 3 short Lightning Sessions, we'll show you how to get Product Breakthroughs faster with our streamlined process & GenAI tool, JourneyMaker (the engine behind our client's big win) 🏆

Plus, you'll get a step-by-step JourneyMaker Challenge Playbook to help you apply what you learn to your own work.

If you want to unlock the secrets of customer discovery, habit design & rapid prototyping – this is for you.

Join us & level-up your design skills in just 3 days ➡️ challenge.gamethinking.io/

Hope to see you there 👋🏽

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 6

Game Thinking TV

Happy #Caturday from Frankie & Lulu, shown here enjoying some post-meal sunshine. We're looking forward to a family hike in the Santa Cruz mountains later today, with our beloved rescue pup Cleo.

What about you - got any fun weekend plans coming up?

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 4

Game Thinking TV

Woot! Game Thinking TV just reached 10K subs! Thanks to everyone who's supported & enjoyed our videos. If you're a Game Thinking TV subscriber, leave us a comment to say hello & let us know what you most enjoy about our channel, and what you want to see more of.

1 month ago | [YT] | 6

Game Thinking TV

Earlier today, I met with a client who's tackling some thorny design issues. After our call, I sent him this Raph Koster compilation video, to equip him with the basics & prepare for our next call.

Want to understand system design better? WTF (watch this first)👇🏽

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 3

Game Thinking TV

Hey Game Thinkers - it's vacation time! We’re taking the next few weeks to kick off our shoes, take long hikes, & enjoy a much-needed break.

We'll be back this Fall with some refreshed branding, & a brand-new program that I can’t WAIT to tell you about it. In the meantime, our team will re-publish some of our "greatest hits" for you to enjoy.

Wanna stay in the loop & be first to hear about what we’re cooking up? Sign up for our newsletter at gamethinking.io/insider - that’s the best way to stay in touch and get early-bird discounts.

Enjoy these last days of summer 👋🏽☀️😎

2 months ago | [YT] | 7

Game Thinking TV

WOW - I'm inspired by my interview today with Mark Jacobstein, where we did a deep dive into #startups, #leadership & his new-style venture firm, Near Horizon.

Mark is incisive, curious, humble, & wildly smart - an arresting combo.

Plus, he's a great storyteller. So getting to hangout & absorb his insights... pure joy 🤩☀️

Wanna listen in to our convo, & learn from this #startup veteran? Signup here to get the replay 👇🏽
gamethinking.io/markjacobstein

2 months ago | [YT] | 2

Game Thinking TV

I first met serial entrepreneur Mark Jacobstein during a tense boardroom meeting at mobile gaming company Digital Chocolate. I was the Creative Director for a mobile game aimed at 20-something females. And as we got close to launch day, there were tensions between marketing & dev.

I'm no gonna lie - it was rough. After one particularly heated meeting, I thought I might get fired 😳

But instead, we got things sorted out & the game went on to be a success.

In those meetings, Mark was a welcome voice of reason. And recently, I got to reconnect with Mark around one of his portfolio companies.

After listening to Mark pitch me the context & purpose of Jimini Health, I was sold - both on the company vision, and on Mark's extraordinary communication abilities.

Like many great founders, this man is a MESMERIZING storyteller. And this Tuesday, I'll be chatting with Mark to hear stories about his journey through tech - his time "supervising" Sam Altman - & the collaborative adventure he's now embarking on at Near Horizons.

If you live at the intersection of gaming, AI & startups - this is for you. I'd love to see you there.

Grab a seat & join us here: gamethinking.io/markjacobstein

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 3